The utility of the high-resolution ultrasound technique in the evaluation of autologous adipose tissue lipofilling, used for the correction of post-surgical, post-traumatic and post-burn scars

Purpose Lipofilling technique is significantly increasing and the need of a non-invasive method to assess the success of the procedure is becoming mandatory. In particular, US can be considered an alternative method to MRI for evaluation of tissue lipofilling due to the simplicity and easy access of the technique and can be also used for monitoring the efficacy of the surgical procedure. The goal of this study was to demonstrate, the utility of the high-resolution ultrasound technique in the evaluation of autologous adipose tissue lipofilling, used for the correction of post-surgical, post-traumatic and post-burn scars. Materials and methods Twenty-five patients (21 females), aged between 14 and 62 years, underwent surgical correction of scars with ‘‘lipofilling’’ technique. To evaluate the effectiveness of such treatment serial ultrasound examinations were performed at both the region affected from skin dimorphism through the adjacent skin region, using a high frequency transducer. Furthermore, it was assessed the presence of complications ranging from oedema or hematoma to necrosis or adipocyte migration of the graft. Finally, was calculated the average percentage of one-year survival of autologous fat transplant. Results Quantitative evaluations obtained with time series of ultrasound showed that the greatest benefits of autologous adipose tissue lipofilling, are found at the level of the hypodermis, but that also all the other layers of the skin can benefit from this procedure. Conclusion The data acquired demonstrate that the eco color Doppler with high resolution can be considered a valid non-invasive tool for the assessment of morphological and quantitative degree of engraftment of autologous adipose tissue transplanted. Lipofilling is an accurate and effective choice for the correction of congenital or acquired skin disorders for its filler effect and consequent benefit for all tissue layers.